Defenders of Freedom or Perpetrators and Facilitators of Crimes? Beyond Progressive Retreatism in the Trump Era

ABSTRACT

Heavily influenced by broad definitions of crime developed by a few pioneering critical criminologists, the main objective of this article is to provide evidence showing that the current Trump administration is a regime that commits crimes of the powerful and facilitates some types of interpersonal violence in private places. Special attention is devoted to direct and in-direct state-perpetrated violent crimes against women.     

Shaking off the neoliberal shackles: “democratic emergence” and the negotiation of democratic knowledge in the Middle East North Africa context

ABSTRACT

There is a general assumption in democracy promotion that liberal democracy is the panacea that will solve all political and economic problems faced by developing countries. Using the concept of “good society” as analytical prism, the analysis shows that while there is a rhetorical agreement as to what the “good society” entails, democracy promotion practices fail to allow for recipients’ inclusion in the negotiation and delivery of the “good society”. Contrasting US and Tunisian discourses on the “good society”, the article argues that democracy promotion practices are underpinned by neoliberal parameters borne out from a reliance on the transition paradigm, which in turn leave little room to democracy promotion recipients to formulate knowledge claims supporting the emergence of alternative conceptions of the “good society”. In contrast, the article opens up a reflective pathway to a negotiated democratic knowledge, which would reside in a paradigmatic change that consists in the abandonment of the transition paradigm in favour of a “democratic emergence” paradigm.     

What do forensic analysts consider relevant to their decision making?

In response to research demonstrating that irrelevant contextual information can bias forensic science analyses, authorities have increasingly urged laboratories to limit analysts' access to irrelevant and potentially biasing information (Dror and Cole (2010) [3]; National Academy of Sciences (2009) [18]; President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2016) [22]; UK Forensic Science Regulator (2015) [26]). However, a great challenge in implementing this reform is determining which information is task-relevant and which is task-irrelevant. In the current study, we surveyed 183 forensic analysts to examine what they consider relevant versus irrelevant in their forensic analyses. Results revealed that analysts generally do not regard information regarding the suspect or victim as essential to their analytic tasks. However, there was significant variability among analysts within and between disciplines. Findings suggest that forensic science disciplines need to agree on what they regard as task-relevant before context management procedures can be properly implemented. The lack of consensus about what is relevant information not only leaves room for biasing information, but also reveals foundational gaps in what analysts consider crucial in forensic decision making.     

美国的公共服务改革及其启示

公共服务民营化是美国近年来公共服务改革的核心措施。从美国的经验来看,能否处理好民营化与竞争、民营化与社会公正、民营化与公众安全的关系,以及民营化与政府监管的关系直接关系到公共服务改革的成效。     

防范打击计算机犯罪的法律思考

计算机犯罪愈演愈烈,危害越来越严重,应予高度重视。目前打击防范计算机犯罪存在许多薄弱环节,建立完善的计算机安全法律体系刻不容缓。一是根据新情况、新问题的出现制定新法以增强法律的调整力和强制力;二是及时修改、完善旧法以适应、调整和规范网络行为。充分利用法律的手段,有效防范和打击计算机犯罪,趋利避害,使计算机更好地为人类服务。     

洗钱罪的保护客体探析 --兼论本罪在刑法分则体系中的地位

洗钱罪保护的客体即洗钱罪所保护的利益,洗钱犯罪既侵害了司法机关的正常活动又侵害了经济管理秩序,但洗钱犯罪所主要侵害的法益为司法机关的正常活动.今后,随着<反洗钱法>的出台,刑法分则中惩治洗钱行为的具体罪名也应加以修订,应将洗钱罪置于妨害司法罪之中,同时鉴于惩治金融机构及其工作人员洗钱犯罪的特殊性,刑事立法有必要创设新的罪名给予特殊保护.     

反腐败的国际刑事司法协助——《联合国打击跨国有组织犯罪公约》的刑事司法协助体系

在《联合国反腐败公约》生效并有效发挥作用之前 ,巴勒莫公约将是国际社会最为重要的打击腐败犯罪的国际公约之一 ,也是目前我国打击腐败犯罪 ,阻截“三外潮”所能利用的最有力国际法资源     

现代化与近代以来中国政治发展的相关理论问题

现代文明是一种独特的文明模式,其历史渊源是欧洲传统文明。中国传统文明具有独特性,它采取的是政教合一的秩序实现模式,有自身的演进逻辑。中国传统文明与现代文明本是两个不相干的系统。从政治发展的角度看,中国现代化实质上是一场秩序模式革命,包括传统政治整合模式的解构和现代秩序模式的创建。与欧洲特别是英国“顺势现代化”模式相比,中国的现代化属于“逆势现代化”,其过程的复杂性和艰巨性主要在于,在现代化的启动初期,就必须在共同体的宏观层面展开对传统秩序模式的解构。     

The Concept of Appropriation and The Offence of Theft

The English law of theft is confusing and problematic in principle. Since the introduction of the Theft Act 1968 there has been inconsistency in the interpretation of appropriation as court and commentators have grappled with the intuition that appropriation must entail some subjective element and cannot be purely objective. Although subjectivity is traditionally associated with culpability rather than with conduct, it is argued that some acts can be subjective and yet factual and stand as causes to effects. Appropriation is such an act, its necessary and sufficient condition being a mindset, here termed proprietary subjectivity, on the part of the actor. It is argued that clarification of the concept of appropriation can help to resolve misperceived problems. Such clarification will also reveal other problems in the law of theft. Some tentative comments de lege ferenda are made suggesting how these problems can be addressed.     

Toward a Feminist State: What Does ‘Effective’ Prosecution of Domestic Violence Mean?

This article examines domestic violence criminal prosecutions and addresses what 'effective' prosecutorial action means in such cases. The argument elaborates on a point recently articulated by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, which links effective prosecution of violence against women to the creation of a less patriarchal society. The article concludes that 'effective' prosecution of domestic violence means prosecution which constitutes the State as less patriarchal ceteris paribus .